I have to admit I actually enjoy deadlines.
It’s a buzz getting things in on time. If I make a commitment to get something
to my editor on a certain date I will always endeavour to meet that obligation.
Of course, it’s not always easy or smooth sailing. Things often crop up –
family and other work etc. can easily derail plans and corrode much needed
concentration. One trick, I’ve discovered, in all aspects of writing, whether
it’s at the start of a project or pushing to finish revisions or edits, is to
maintain a solid work/life balance.

Prior to working as a full time author I
had a career as a retail manager for a department store and I lived and
breathed deadlines. Although I didn’t realize it at the time this job put me in
a good position to handle the deadlines I get now. I’ve known other writers who
work a day job and meet commitments and deadlines without a hitch, but when it
comes to the writing work, things often fall apart. Many years ago a prominent
Mills & Boon author gave me an important piece of advice – protect the work. This is particularly
significant when handling deadlines and the pressure that comes with it.

If it’s a revision deadline then I will
take a day or so to go through the notes from my editor, take into account
anything extraneous that’s happening – like a book release, a blog tour, or
anything in my personal life (family weddings or holidays as an example) and
then create a workable plan of action in a diary/notebook. If I have thirty
days until deadline then I take out the number of days I need for the ‘other’
things I need to do and then allocate the revision time accordingly. So my
thirty day deadline might in fact look more like twenty days once the time I
need for other parts of my work and life are taken into account. Then I will
work out a schedule of how many hours a day I need to meet that commitment. When
I worked my old day job I would often say to my staff, ‘plan your work, then
work your plan’ – and that’s how I approach writing deadlines. This is my way
of protecting the work – keeping the
balance and ensuring that commitments are met, both personal and professional. And
the good thing about having an action plan – it can be changed if things around
you change.

To celebrate the release of my second
Harlequin Special Edition, Marriage Under The Mistletoe, I have a signed copy
to give away to one commenter.Helen around the web:WebFacebookTwitterAuthor Page

M

ARRIAGE UNDER THE MISTLETOE

Strong. Sensible. Dependable. That was Evie Dunn's type.
Certainly not young, fearless gorgeous
firefighter Scott Jones. She knew the wisest course was to keep her distance,
but she couldn't resist the allure of a holiday fling. Now the widowed single
mom found herself with an unexpected post-Christmas gift—she was having Scott's
baby!

Scott came to Crystal Point to see his sister tie the knot, not fall for the
alluring owner of the town's oceanfront B and B. He knew he was all wrong for
Evie, but he would do anything to win her heart and build the family he'd
always wanted. All he had to do was persuade Evie to take the biggest risk of
her life…on love.

Thank you for the advice! I created a revision plan for my last novel to meet a submission deadline--and it worked! I think I need to apply this concept to the novel that I'm drafting. I get busy with life and the daily drafting goes out the window.

Hi Jack - hope you get a deadline soon. Before I was published I used to use contests deadlines to keep me on track. In fact, it was through too separate contests that I signed with my agent and got me past the slush pile and onto my editors desk - contests are great for working to a deadline. Good luck!

I need to get back to being organized with how I will spend time and make deadlines. Sometimes life gets crazy and before you know it you wake up behind the eight ball. I found I need to be crazy organized and that means planning ahead well in advance.

I really, really like this. Creating an action plan that balances not just the work you need that needs to be done, but all aspects of your life is not only easier to stick with (it satisfies desires of self-care), but gets the job done!

What wonderful advice! I hadn't thought about actually blocking things out like that, but it makes sense because things do come up, and the thought of being late on a deadline is terrifying. Great post!